Electrical connectors general comprise a plug and a jack that complete an electrical circuit when joined together. The plug and jack of an electrical connector may be configured to join two lengths of flexible wire or cable, or to connect a wire or cable to an electrical terminal of an electronic device. As such, electrical connectors are routinely used to conductively connect two or more electronic devices.
The plug and jack of prior art electrical connectors are frequently soldered (or otherwise connected) to opposite ends of a round wire or cable. The junction between the wire and the plug or jack is a break in the conductive path that causes signal degradation (e.g., skin effect, noise, distortion, etc.) between devices conductively connected thereby. This signal degradation can adversely affect the performance of the conductively connected devices (e.g., the sound quality of a stereo system).
Accordingly, it can be seen that needs exist for the two-piece electrical connector disclosed herein. It is to the provision of a two-piece electrical connector configured to address these needs, and others, that the present invention in primarily directed.